וְהִנֵּה֙ שֶׁ֣בַע שִׁבֳּלִ֔ים דַּקּ֖וֹת וּשְׁדוּפֹ֣ת קָדִ֑ים צֹמְח֖וֹת אַחֲרֵיהֶֽן׃
그 후에 또 세약하고 동풍에 마른 일곱 이삭이 나오더니
Midrash Tanchuma
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: “I have dreamed a dream (ibid.). As he was about to relate the dream to him, he decided to test Joseph by altering the dream slightly. He said: “Seven kine went up out of the Nile, fat and well-formed,” whereupon Joseph replied: “That is not so, you saw fat and healthy kine.” “And there were,” he said to him, “seven lean and ill-favored kine.” And Joseph replied: “You did not see this but rather ugly-appearing and thin-fleshed kine.” “And there were seven full and good ears of corn,” he continued. Whereupon Joseph answered: “That too is not so, you saw fat and good ones.” “There were seven shrunken ears of corn,” he added. And Joseph responded: “That is not so, you beheld seven ears of corn, withered thin and blistered by the east wind.” Pharaoh began to wonder about this. He said to him: “You must have been behind me when I had my dream,” as it is said: For inasmuch as God hath shown thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou (ibid. v. 39).
Midrash Tanchuma
Why did Pharaoh and his servants approach him, saying: Get you? The time Pharaoh told him: Get thee from me, see my face no more (ibid. 10:29), he (Moses) insisted: But we shall not leave until all these servants shall come down unto me (ibid. 11:9), to escort us from this place. This verse indicates that Moses paid homage to royalty, since he did not say to him: “You and all your servants.” In fact, the Holy One, blessed be He, had previously charged Moses and Aaron to be respectful to royalty, as it is said: And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt (ibid. 6:13). Joseph was respectful to royalty when he said: It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace (Gen. 41:6). Jacob was respectful to royalty; and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed (ibid. 49:2). Elijah paid homage to royalty, as is said: And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah (I Kings 18:46). Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah also were respectful to royalty, and so was Daniel.
Bereshit Rabbah
“And Pharaoh was dreaming” – do not all people dream? Astonishing! It is, rather, that a king’s dream pertains to the entire world.
“And Pharaoh was dreaming.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The wicked stand over their gods – “and Pharaoh was dreaming: and, behold, he stood at the Nile.”8The phrase “at [al] the Nile” can also be translated “over the Nile.” But the righteous, their God stands over them [to protect them]: “Behold, the Lord stood over him” (Genesis 28:13).
“And, behold, there were coming up from the Nile seven cows, fair of appearance and fat-fleshed, and they grazed in the pasture [baaḥu]. And, behold, seven other cows were coming up after them from the Nile, unsightly of appearance and lean of flesh, and stood alongside the other cows on the bank of the Nile” (Genesis 41:2–3).
“And, behold, [there were coming up] from the Nile” – it was a hint to him,9This was a hint as to the meaning of the dream. as plenty comes to Egypt only by means of the Nile, and similarly, famine comes to Egypt only by means of the Nile.
“And, behold, from the Nile” – when the years are good, the creatures become brethren [aḥim] with one another. “They grazed in the pasture [baaḥu]” – love [ahava] and fraternity [aḥva] come to the world. Likewise it says: “Your livestock will graze on that day on a broad plain [kar nirḥav]” (Isaiah 30:23) – a satiated [kiri] slave, a satiated [kiri] master. Likewise it says: “The mountains will bear peace [for the people]” (Psalms 72:3) – if the mountains have borne their produce, there is peace among the people.
“And, behold, seven stalks, thin and blighted by the east wind, were growing after them” (Genesis 41:6).
“And, behold, seven stalks, thin…” – when the years are bad, people’s bodies break out in sores.10The term employed by the verse for growing is tzomeḥot, and in rabbinic Hebrew the related term tzemaḥim is another word for sores.
“And Pharaoh was dreaming.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The wicked stand over their gods – “and Pharaoh was dreaming: and, behold, he stood at the Nile.”8The phrase “at [al] the Nile” can also be translated “over the Nile.” But the righteous, their God stands over them [to protect them]: “Behold, the Lord stood over him” (Genesis 28:13).
“And, behold, there were coming up from the Nile seven cows, fair of appearance and fat-fleshed, and they grazed in the pasture [baaḥu]. And, behold, seven other cows were coming up after them from the Nile, unsightly of appearance and lean of flesh, and stood alongside the other cows on the bank of the Nile” (Genesis 41:2–3).
“And, behold, [there were coming up] from the Nile” – it was a hint to him,9This was a hint as to the meaning of the dream. as plenty comes to Egypt only by means of the Nile, and similarly, famine comes to Egypt only by means of the Nile.
“And, behold, from the Nile” – when the years are good, the creatures become brethren [aḥim] with one another. “They grazed in the pasture [baaḥu]” – love [ahava] and fraternity [aḥva] come to the world. Likewise it says: “Your livestock will graze on that day on a broad plain [kar nirḥav]” (Isaiah 30:23) – a satiated [kiri] slave, a satiated [kiri] master. Likewise it says: “The mountains will bear peace [for the people]” (Psalms 72:3) – if the mountains have borne their produce, there is peace among the people.
“And, behold, seven stalks, thin and blighted by the east wind, were growing after them” (Genesis 41:6).
“And, behold, seven stalks, thin…” – when the years are bad, people’s bodies break out in sores.10The term employed by the verse for growing is tzomeḥot, and in rabbinic Hebrew the related term tzemaḥim is another word for sores.